8/30/2007

[“Deport the Criminals First” is a recurring feature on this blog, highlighting crimes committed by illegal immigrants — with a special focus on repeat offenders. I argue that, instead of arresting illegal immigrants who work hard for a living, we should use our limited immigration enforcement resources to target illegal immigrants who commit crimes in this country.]

[Guest post by DRJ]

I had hoped there would be no further additions to the Deport the Criminals First series during Patterico’s brief hiatus from blogging, but then I read about the Leon Andrade trial that just concluded in Houston.

“Jurors took almost 10 minutes today to convict an illegal Mexican immigrant of murder in the machete death of an ordained minister and restaurant owner last March.

The same jury later sentenced Leon Andrade, 37, to life in prison for killing William Huang. Andrade killed the 61-year-old man outside the victim’s Lucky Seafood restaurant at 66 E. Crosstimbers as Andrade’s estranged wife and daughter watched in horror, prosecutors said. Huang was killed after Andrade confronted his wife, who worked at the restaurant, had reported Andrade was stalking her.”

The defendant’s guilt was apparently so clear that the jury took less than 10 minutes to convict. The case must have been open and shut but that’s not the point of this post. Leon Andrade is an illegal immigrant who had stalked and threatened his wife, was the subject of a pending protective order, may have previously been removed to Mexico, and who the Huang family claims had an even more extensive criminal record (including “murder/manslaughter 15 years, numerous DWI’s, firing a weapon and carrying a shotgun in a public place”) before he murdered William Huang.

According to a local media report, on the night of his death William Huang celebrated his son’s 10th birthday and then returned to his restaurant to lock up. Leon Andrade, the estranged husband of one of Huang’s waitresses, showed up at the restaurant and began arguing with his wife. Huang tried to break up the fight and Andrade ran to his truck, took out a machete, and hacked Huang to death:

“He didn’t just shoot my father he took a machete and just slayed him more than once,” said Jade Wang. “He didn’t even know my father. I mean how dangerous is that of a man?” Jade Wang said her father’s death is not only tough, but frustrating because the suspect is still on the run [10 days after the attack] even though police have identified him.”

Andrade fled to West Virginia where, despite his illegal status and a warrant out for his arrest, he obtained employment and worked for 5 months until his arrest. He was returned to Texas to stand trial for the murder of William Huang. On August 29, 2007, a Harris County, Texas, jury returned a verdict of guilty in his case and a sentence of life in prison.

The Huang family has a website to remember their husband and father and to provide information about his murder. Huang was an immigrant from China with an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from a Taiwan university and three Masters degrees – one in chemical engineering from Georgia Tech, a second in communications from Wheaton College, and his most recent a Masters of Divinty from Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary. He traveled to Taiwan to aid earthquake victims and he had planned a trip to China to help AIDs victims. Here is one of many inspiring anecdotes about William Huang, the man Leon Andrade murdered:

“William and his family returned to the United States in 2005, as both he and Lena continued looking for work. He purchased the Lucky Seafood Market in December 2005 in an attempt to financially support the family and his ministry. There he found himself extremely happy, singing to every customer that walked in and shared the gospel to anyone that cared to listen. He came home every night with stories of the different people he met and sang to.”

At the time he murdered Huang, a news report stated that Andrade “was separated from his wife and … had been stalking the family, authorities said. A temporary protective order had been taken out by his wife to stop him from further stalking …”. Andrade was ordered removed to Mexico but it’s not clear if he was deported and returned or if he was never deported. As a result of this case and the murder of Officer Rodney Johnson, the Houston Police Department modified its procedures – apparently with no real success:

“The process helped ICE find Andrade in the Harris County Jail in July 2005, eight months before Huang’s death, but it didn’t guarantee his deportation.”

We need to deport illegal immigrants with criminal records. To the extent we deport them and they return, we should work to develop better policies and try again. We should do this for William Huang and his family, for Leon Andrade’s family, and for us all.

24 Responses to “Deport the Criminals First (Guest Blogger Edition, Vol. 3): The Murder of William Huang”

We need to deport illegal immigrants with criminal records.

On the surface, I have no problem with this position. Having said that, I would like to see no Constitutional protections or due process for individuals like Andrade. The concern is that once deported, he would come across the border again, commit more crimes, and create more havoc.

How much did a trial cost the taxpayers of Texas? How much will his incarceration and appeals cost?

Sloppy article in the Houston Chronicle: “Leon-Andrade” is a last name and the Huang murder wasn’t “last March.”

Why does any of that matter?

I suspect a lot of illegals escape law enforcement nets through lapses that include misidentification. On the day of the Huang slaying, a ‘Leon Andrade’ had just been picked up for murder, 1,200 miles away:

That’s a different person. I was fooled, too, when I first started researching this story but the immigrant at your link was sought in connection with the murder of his girlfriend in Mexico and returned to Mexico after his arrest. Similar names and crimes but not the same person.

But you make a good point. It’s hard to differentiate people who have similar names and no other identifying information – no SS numbers, DL numbers, etc.

I thought I explained that with the context. The Chronicle made the easy mistake of assuming his name was “Leon Andrade.” It’s hardly inconceivable that investigators simultaneously tracking two murderers across several jurisdictions and cross-referencing databases might mistake one illegal Mexican alien for the other, both named “Leon Andrade.” Did that happen here? Apparently not. Does it happen? Todo el tiempo.

DRJ
Could you clarify this point, please?
Is “Huang was killed after Andrade confronted his wife, who worked at the restaurant, had reported Andrade was stalking her.” typo-laden for “Huang was killed after Andrade confronted his wife, who worked at the restaurant and who had reported Andrade was stalking her.”?

We need to do lots of things. However, none of it will happen as long as politicians and the media know they can get away with allowing illegal immigration. Perhaps this site could concentrate on that step first.

Thanks, DRJ. For the fix and the summary of the case.
I read this far:
“Jurors took almost 10 minutes today to convict an illegal Mexican immigrant of murder in the machete death of”
and I just feel sick. How can these examples not sway policy? Are these being gathered and sent to people who can affect policy? (You know, in your spare time.)

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